Throughout his service, Andrew J. LaBoiteaux compiled a scrapbook, detailing his training and service. These photos document a round-trip training flight he made from Ellington Field to Katy, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo)

The road to becoming a pilot during World War I was neither fast nor easy. Andrew J. LaBoiteaux, of Middletown, Ohio, began his journey in August, 1917 at the U.S. Army Recruiting Station in Cincinnati. After completing a course of studies at the School of Military Aeronautics at The Ohio State University in November, 1917, LaBoiteaux would spend the next 7 months at Ellington Field, Texas, learning how to fly.